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| i love this book, and isn't the cover beautiful? |
I recently read the novel Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin, which is described on the book jacket as "a modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice for a new generation of love." As mentioned in my latest reading notes post, I've read a few Pride and Prejudice "retellings" lately. Ayesha at Last is my favorite of these by far. The book has received a number of starred reviews (Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal and Kirkus) and has landed on many summer reading lists. It's a well-written and engaging story with a fascinating cast of characters. I couldn't put it down! The book is set in a "close-knit Toronto Muslim community" and gives us insight into that community and its culture, customs and traditions while also exploring universal themes about family and love. I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in a fun "dramedy." You don't have to be familiar with Jane Austen or P & P to enjoy Ayesha at Last. Check it out!
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I've written previously about my commitment to read books by diverse authors. When I talk about reading diverse books, I specifically mean books not only about but also written by people with different racial, ethnic and/or cultural backgrounds and perspectives than my own. (Therefore a book like The Help by Kathryn Stockett, which I found on a diverse reading list on Goodreads, is NOT a diverse book. That book makes me cringe, by the way.) If you'd like to read more about my commitment to read diversely, you can check out these posts: A challenge for Black History Month and January reading notes - got privilege? Reading notes here and here also reference diverse books.
When I google "read diverse books," most of the results are articles directed toward teachers and parents and are recommendations of diverse books for K-12 children. I'm so glad to see that. As an educator, I deeply appreciate We Need Diverse Books, a "non-profit and grassroots organization of children's book lovers that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people." Representation is so important.
We adults need to "walk the walk" and not just "talk the talk" when it comes to reading diverse books. No matter what genre you prefer, there are plenty of diverse books to chose from. All three of my current reads are books by Black authors. They fall into three different genres - nonfiction/history, science fiction, and autobiography. I appreciate my reading friends and my book club, as well as my local library and the internet, for introducing me to a variety of diverse authors with whom I was not familiar, including but not limited to: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Imbolo Mbue, Roxane Gay, Celeste Ng, Tracy K. Smith, Linda Hogan, Lisa Ko, and more...
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Currently reading, nonfiction - The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Currently reading, fiction - Kindred by Octavia Butler
Currently listening, audiobook - Becoming by Michelle Obama
